While I am glad CBC ran that piece, I was upset that no one bothered to mention the third member of the Canadian ice climbing team? Perhaps because he doesn't live in the West they figured no one would care?

To recap, there are three Canadians who will demonstraiting at the Olympic Village, Nathan Kutcher, Jen Olson and Gord McArthur. The couple of Americans that were planning to attend backed out, so I'm not sure who is there other than Marc Beverly from the US.

They have a lead and a speed wall set up there and will be demonstraiting compitition climbing each day and then giving instruction to the general public who are interested.

I pity the poor people who bought this place. The old owners let it go down the drain, then dumped the site as soon as they could. I wonder what the new owners paid for it.

Looks like their kids will be going to community college.

I think this site's traffic normally drops in the winter and picks up in the spring - corresponding to when a large chunk of this site's users stop and then resume climbing outside. As long as this site has shown some improvement by then there is a shot for forum use to pick up.

But really, "climbing in the Olympics" has been discussed before. And everything that people said about climbing in the Olympics, also applies to ice climbing in the Olympics. And, relatively few users of this site are interested in ice climbing in the first place.

I personally think it is cool that this demo is happening, and that Nathan is part of it. Competition climbing has always been more popular in Europe, and ice climbing is popular in Russia, so it is a perfect venue for showcasing it.

I personally think it is cool that this demo is happening, and that Nathan is part of it. Competition climbing has always been more popular in Europe, and ice climbing is popular in Russia, so it is a perfect venue for showcasing it.

I'm realizing more and more the differences between North American and Europe in terms of climbing. Ice comps are actually very accesable for those who are interested in it, but people here aren't really exposed to it.

Could it be related the high initial cost associated with getting into ice climbing?

That or simply there's not a lot of "natural" ice climbing accessible to most folks in the US... I grew up near the most heavily glaciated area in the lower 48 and there was only one ice climbing area that was relatively accessible as a day trip and it wasn't that great. Not saying there's not some great places in the US, just that they aren't super close to the population centers...

Honestly ice climbing is a million times more interesting than ice dancing. It makes a lot of sense to be involved as it is still a growing sport and the athletes are essentially "amateur" in the sense that they are not heavily financed by corporate sponsors.

Also rock climbing especially boudlering or speed climbing is much more interesting than some floor events in gymnastics.

Anyways i love the idea and as climbing continues to grow i think there's a good chance climbing in some forms will be a part of the Olympics.

Could it be related the high initial cost associated with getting into ice climbing?

Or is your question why don't more ice climbers get involved in comps?

It is expensive to get into ice climbing, no question. I think that's what you see slighty more mature climbers who leading the field than the people who just turned 20.

But I was more talking comps and really mixed climbing in general. Was climbing in Quebec with a group I don't normally get out with. Brought them to a drytooling crag. Had one person comment how much fun they had....they had thought that mixed climbing and drytooling was just for elite climbers, they didn't realize that there was plenty of stuff out there for them too.

For a climber, watching climbing is a lot like a fishermen watching a fisherman compete to catch fish. Maybe even less, as the fisherman is outside in the real world whereas the climber competing is in an artificial environment.

Perhaps it can be compared to having sex with a real hot woman, vs having a person describe 2 robots fucking their brains out.

Once you have rock gear and some winter clothing, it's about $1200 for topnotch tools, poons and boots. It sounds like a lot. Especially when you divide it by the months you're able to do it. Have you priced how much it cost to get your into hockey? Skiing?

Once you have rock gear and some winter clothing, it's about $1200 for topnotch tools, poons and boots. It sounds like a lot. Especially when you divide it by the months you're able to do it. Have you priced how much it cost to get your into hockey? Skiing?

Actually the biggest expense comes from the fees to participate.

Actually, in Canada the fees to participate in the ice climbing world cup are covered by the Alpine Club of Canada. These fees are surprisingly small though.

The biggest expense is getting there! It's one thing if you're a climber with a good sponsership, but people like Nathan (aka - chossmonkey) are paying for most of it out of pocket. Mixed climbing is a subset of a subset of climbing disciplines. Show casing it in the olympics is a good way to bring attention to it.

Honestly ice climbing is a million times more interesting than ice dancing. It makes a lot of sense to be involved as it is still a growing sport and the athletes are essentially "amateur" in the sense that they are not heavily financed by corporate sponsors.

Also rock climbing especially boudlering or speed climbing is much more interesting than some floor events in gymnastics.

I agree with the first half, and disagree with the second half of the above.

I have zero (is it possible to have less than zero? In that case, less than zero) interest in actually ice climbing, myself, personally. But if it were featured in the Olympics? Hell yeah, I'd watch that. I think it'd be cool to see. Wouldn't change my opinion of whether I want to do it, but I'd way rather watch that than, say, ice dancing or curling.

But I have very little interest in watching speed climbing (yawn) or bouldering in the Olympics. Those may be fun to watch in person, but on TV, forget it. I'd way rather watch gymnastics, or even wrestling - a sport that had such poor interest levels they tried to cut it from the Olympics.